Tim Farron and I have only
exchanged messages and tweets, but somehow I have the sense of him being a
kindred spirit. He is the sort of political figure I like and, believe me,
there are very few of his type around—certainly ones that have gone on to become
a leader of a political party. Tim is radical, compassionate, caring, straight
talking, never afraid to speak his mind and is a reformer. Those are rare
qualities in today’s politicians—there’s nothing safety first about him!
At the turn of the year my
interest in politics was switched on again fully as the general election
loomed. The obvious inevitability of the impending disaster, as took place on 7th
May, troubled me greatly having been present from the outset of the great
venture between the SDP and the Liberals in 1981. Many, apparently, were moved
to tears by Nick Clegg’s resignation speech. I am sorry to say that only served
to compound my anger and will be the subject of a future blog.
I have known at close hand
every leader and many senior politicians in the Labour Party, Liberals, SDP and
Liberal Democrats from the early 1960s to 1992, and I can honestly say that it
is rare to have come across someone like Tim Farron. His passion, care for
others who are less fortunate and campaigning zeal are inspiring—and his principles,
values and beliefs are motivational. Indeed, a true liberal and a proud Liberal
Democrat.
To me, Tim combines the
three values that define the Liberal Democrats—a classic and social liberal as
well as a social democrat. As I have intimated in earlier blogs, that is the
tradition I am happy to espouse—having been brought up in a Lab/Lib environment
and argued for the principles of social democracy even when a Labour MP.
So the fightback and renewal
has started, although it actually begun as 17,000 people joined (or maybe
re-joined) the party. It was further nurtured by the very open, generous and
fulsome leadership contest. Here I have to mention Norman Lamb, whom I have
never come across, but through various channels kept in touch with his campaign.
He is clearly a person of conviction, humanity and compassion too.
There is obvious excitement
in the party, which is truly remarkable bearing in mind what has happened in
the last five years and where we ended up on 7th May. That
excitement, to a good part, can be attributed to the character of Tim Farron
because we all know that the ‘shackles’ have now been broken—not just the ones
that tied us down in the coalition period, but also the constraints present for
some years about shouting loudly and clearly what the Liberal Democrats stand
for. Everyone knows that Tim will be the true voice of our principles and
values.
There is much hard work
facing us all under Tim’s leadership and we must rebuild the party’s base and organisation
at community, constituency, regional and UK levels. Things can change quite quickly in politics,
and although it will be a hard long road back—it will happen, because for
decades the British people have naturally been on the side of liberal and
social democratic values. They have been yearning for things to change and
desperate for their voices to be heard. They know that there is an urgent need
for a better and fairer democracy with more equality.
Harold Wilson, someone I
knew very well, once said as Prime Minister—‘a week is a long time in
politics’. That is undoubtedly true because the twists and turns of politics
are often sudden and unexpected. On the surface, all looks bleak but the
discerning observer can envisage more twists and turns ahead than the
conventional wisdom assumes. The Tory honeymoon period will soon come to an end
when the reality of the budget begins to kick-in by mid to late autumn 2015.
There is a road back and we are
on it right now. The signposts are clear for how best to arrive at our
destination...